The Goathead is back. And so is black and red.
The Buffalo Sabres gave an official nod to what’s been a rumor all summer, announcing Wednesday that their third jersey for the 2022-23 season will be modeled after the primary uniforms the team wore from 1996-2006.
The team said it will not officially reveal the uniform until early November, but unveiled a schedule of 12 home games it will be worn. It will debut on 90s Night, which will be Nov. 23 against St. Louis.
The team made the announcement with a video on Twitter and even changed its avatar to red and black with the Goathead logo.
Black and red is BACK. ? Our third jersey drops this November.
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) August 31, 2022
People are also reading…
Forward and longtime Sabres fan Alex Tuch has said several times since he was acquired last November how much he would love to wear the jerseys the team wore during the Dominik Hasek era.
Tuch’s Instagram story earlier Tuesday hinted at the announcement, showing a youngster in the red 2000s “Butter Knives” alternate with the Goathead logo on the shoulder. There were two eye emojis under the picture, which is of a young Tuch skating on his father’s outdoor rink in suburban Syracuse.
The team then tweeted another video Thursday showing the jersey reveal to Tuch, Rasmus Asplund and Dylan Cozens on a television in the team’s locker room.
Surprise, boys! ? pic.twitter.com/Vs1swWZpCC
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) August 31, 2022
“Hey. Old school. That’s nice,” Tuch said.
“I like that. Wow,” added Asplund.
Tuch mused about the posters he had in his childhood bedroom of Sabres wearing black and red.
“Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller. Maxim Afinogenov. Tim Connolly. That logo is special for sure,” Tuch said. “The Goathead. Excited about that.”
The Instagram of the NHL Alumni Association posted about the jersey move Thursday via a picture of former Buffalo captain Daniel Briere and ex-Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who wore it from 2002-2006, responded with the word “Yesssssss!!!” over Briere’s photo.
Ryan Miller posted this on his Instagram story. Another big fan of the Sabres’ plan to bring back the goathead. https://t.co/oHsJDmX1vy pic.twitter.com/ptt2A9DRfL
— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) August 31, 2022
“This franchise had some great years in those jerseys,” former Sabres enforcer Andrew Peters, a member of the ’06 team, said Wednesday on his “After The Whistle” podcast with former Buffalo captain Craig Rivet. “… I absolutely love the Goathead now. I think it’s an iconic jersey and team had great years in it. That’s why I love the move. When you think of Dominik Hasek, you think of him in that jersey.”
Ex-Buffalo goalie Martin Biron (1999-2006) changed his Twitter avatar to a picture of him in the crease with full Goathead regalia.
Introduced for the opening of then-Marine Midland Arena in 1996, the jerseys were a massive transformation for a franchise that had been in blue and gold since its birth in 1970. The iconic, circular crossed swords logo was ditched for the charging Buffalo, which was openly derided in some quarters. Longtime late Buffalo News hockey columnist Jim Kelley was one of the first to mock the logo as a “goathead,” and the name has stuck through the years.
Fans, however, started to warm up to the jersey as the team’s fortunes began to improve. Ted Nolan’s “hardest working team in hockey” wore them in 1997 for the only Game 7 victory in franchise history, secured on a Derek Plante overtime goal vs. Ottawa.
The Sabres were in red and black for their trips to the Eastern Conference final in 1998, 1999 and 2006, and for the six-game loss to Dallas in the No Goal Stanley Cup final of 1999. Former Buffalo winger Miroslav…
Read More: Black and red scheme returning as Sabres’ third jersey for 12 home games |